Tea
by poetryscribbles
Summary: Iroh invites Zuko and Toph over for tea.


bToko Week – Tea/b

How had she let herself be talked into this? Why had she trusted Iroh? How could he do this to her?!

Across the table from Toph, similar thoughts were running through Zuko's head, as the young Fire Lord glared angrily at his uncle.

The three of them—Toph, Zuko, and Iroh—were sitting at a fancy table with Toph at one end, Zuko at the other, and Iroh sitting in the middle. There was no one else there but them.

But _why_ had Iroh chosen to invite only Zuko and herself to this? Obviously, Zuko was his nephew, and the Fire Lord. And yes, she was his friend. But didn't he have friends in the White Lotus he could have had a tea party with? Why _them_?

"So," Iroh said. He looked at Toph, and then at Zuko. "How do you like the new tea flavor?"

"Wonderful, Uncle," Zuko said, a slight hint of a growl in his voice.

"Just great," Toph answered, her tone similar.

For whatever reason, this response made Iroh beam. "Good, good." He took a sip of his tea, drumming his fingers on the table. Maybe he was uncomfortable with the silence, or maybe it was something else.

Toph felt the footsteps approaching before the doors opened to reveal Jeong Jeong, a member of the White Lotus and one of Iroh's friends. "Iroh, I need to speak with you. Now."

Toph could tell that Iroh wasn't surprised by the intrusion. "Of course. If you two will excuse me," he smirked. "I'll be back soon."

With that, the plump old man practically danced out of the door after Jeong Jeong.

Another minute passed, and it was completely silent aside from the sipping of tea.

"So," Toph finally sighed. "Why are we here, Sparky? Any clue?"

"No."

He was lying. Toph let it go—she could come back to it later. "So, how long until he goes back to Ba Sing Se?"

She could feel Zuko's mood plummet a bit. He'd been trying not to think of when his uncle would return to the Jasmine Dragon and leave him alone in the Fire Nation. Toph herself was anxious about returning home, not just because of her parent's wrath, but because she didn't want to be alone again. Maybe Zuko felt the same way.

"H-he's leaving tomorrow."

"Oh."

Zuko sighed and took another sip of his tea.

Toph took a sip of her tea as well, then frowned. "So, why are we here again? I missed it last time."

Zuko rolled his eyes. "I said I didn't know."

"I know that's what you said. But you were lying."

Zuko's jaw locked. "No I wasn't."

"Yes, you were. You're lying right now, too. I can _feel_ it, Sparky. Don't try to hide it."

The Fire Lord let out an angry sigh. "All right! He thinks I…" he trailed off. "He's trying to set us up on a date."

Well. _That_ was a little surprising. Toph's eyes widened, and her tea cup slipped from her hand. Fortunately, it hadn't been far from the table, and only a bit of tea spilled. "Oh. Well. Um… oh."

Zuko's jaw clenched again, and his cheeks burned. "It was a dumb idea."

"Why's that?" Toph asked, keeping her voice firm. She didn't hate the idea of being on a date with Zuko. She didn't hate it at all.

"Because! Because… you don't like me."

Now, he'd thrown her into a dangerous corner. If she said she _did_ like him (which was the truth) and he didn't like her, then she'd be in trouble. And if she said she _didn't_ like him, and he liked her, then she'd hurt his feelings. But then, if she said she didn't like him, and he didn't like her, they'd stay friends. And if she said she did like him, and he also liked her back, then they'd be _more_ then friends.

Toph took the coward's option, for probably the first time in her life. "Do you like me?" she asked.

She could feel Zuko tense. "I… I asked you first," he grumbled.

Childish. Is this what it would come down to? Fine. "No, you didn't. You said it as a statement, I phrased it as a question. I asked first."

Zuko let out a groan. "Not…" he frowned. "No." But his cheeks were blushing.

His words hurt, but Toph smiled. "I can feel a lie, Sparky. Do you not get that?"

He didn't respond.

She smiled wider. "I like you too, Zuko."

She could feel his heart falter for a moment, and his head snapped up to look at her. "I can't feel lies, Toph, so I'm going to have to trust you."

"You should, cuz I'm not lying."

"Well…" Zuko smiled. "Okay then. Uh, but, Uncle _will_ be back. Do you want him sitting in on our… date?"

Toph smirked. "Not really."

"Then…" Zuko stood up and walked over to her. Gently, he took her hand in his and helped her up from the seat. "Do you want to maybe go for a walk, instead?"

Toph smiled. "I'd love to, Sparky."

He rolled his eyes, but smiled and led her away.

The tea was left to grow cold on the table, forgotten.


End file.
